What is the best food safe butcher block counter top finish?
Oil?
I have a customer that would like a “more durable” finish, she thought she read somewhere there was a finish, like a poly, that could be applied but not cut or damaged by cutting on it?
I’ve never heard of anything similiar to that, so I thought I’d ask here…
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Replies
Take a look at:
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?offerings_id=5344
shellac or mineral oil....they coat kids toys with shellac but personally I think if you have a butcher block you need to always maitain it so I'd use mineral oil and deal with it.....but thats just me.
Be well Neil
a...
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
First, let's agree that ALL finishes which are generally available, are non-toxic once cured. This includes shellac, as mentioned in a previous reply, as well as old style varnish, polyurethane, tung oil, linseed oil, walnut oil, even latex paint.
But non-toxic, in this case, means that they won't hurt a person who has no food allergies. A person with food allergies could be killed by some of the oils.
And there is no finish that you can put on wood, that will hold up to sharp knives. So, if food allergies are not an issue, pick one of the non-film-forming oils that will polymerize in the wood. These include linseed oil and tung oil. Plan on recoating with these about twice a year, since washing will wear the finish.
If food allergies are present in the home, stick with the mineral oil, and recoat it about once a month, maybe more
.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Many of the finishes you mention, such as varnish, linseed oil (if it's "boiled") and sometimes tung oil contain Japan dryer - highly toxic when fresh, merely dangerous once cured. Tung oil should not be ingested even without the dryer.
Natural linseed oil can be used but it'll be sticky nearly forever.
Mineral oil is the easiest thing by far. It works, it's cheap, it's safe.
Ron
What is the best food safe butcher block counter top finish?"
Oil?
How's it going Neil?
Been there, done that. If somebody is going to be using it for cutting, nothing is going to hold up very well. I use walnut oil on my cutting boards, and I ALWAYS wash them when I'm done and give them a quick swipe with that oil after they dry.
I also have a 72" x 30" x 2.25" butcher block section of countertop in my kitchen. Boose product is my hunch (I bought two through an industrial supply house marketed as workbench tops).
It came with a lacquer finish which I stripped off by sanding. I applied five coats of poly to it, and scuffed the last one with scotchbrite to remove the sheen. It has held up very well for 5 years, and looks like natural wood.
I would never put a knife to it, that's why they make cutting boards.
A helpful hint, "end cuts" of BB make for great cutting boards. rarely I would think you need the entire 8' section.. See pic.
Jon
Cutting on any film finish will cause problems. You score the finish, it starts lifting...things can get ugly real fast.
On wood countertops that will see knives, simply wipe on mineral oil. Buy if in the pharmacy or in the beauty products area of the grocery store, it'll be food safe (used as a laxative), it's easily renewable, and it's fast and easy to renew.
Some wood countertops can take a few weeks to season after the initial application, meaning water dripped on the countertop soon after the initial application of oil can invert and cause water spotting. It can seem like a real scare at first, but it goes away after the countertop has seasoned a few weeks.
Here's teak. Five-inch thick end-grain butcher block island endcap in the foreground, 2" thick in the background.
Mineral oil finish, renewed one every couple of months. Takes about 5 minutes.
These are several years old.
View Image
Edited 3/2/2005 2:23 pm ET by Mongo
Food allergies are probably a concern in this situation, a few more details.:
this is in a sorority house up on campus, the house mom doesn’t like the fact the cook prepares his meat on the same wood surface they use for other preparations.
She asked about a poly or laq, I said I didn’t think it would work b/c of the knives and saftey, she swore she read or heard or what ever, somewhere of a finish that wouldn't be cut by a knife etc.... I told her I didn't think anything like that existed, but I'd check.
What she really wants is a stainless top, but the cook doesn’t want to give up his butcher block top, he also doesn’t seem to like the maintenance routine of re-oiling the top.
size is about 3' x 9 ' x 3.5"
either way, at least I get to go back to the sorority house some time soon ;)
1/2 mineral oil1/2 beeswaxMelt the beeswax without getting it extremely hot, then mix the two together.Best coating you'll get.Sounds like she wants to completely seal the wood away. Like coat the whole thing with epoxy or something.What's the point then, in having the butcher block ?If she wants a separate surface for preparing other foods on, then tell her to have a separate surface put in beside it or something.
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow It is easy to be friends with someone you always agree with.
Luka has it right. Use wax and mineral oil -- the wax fills the micro-cracks in the wood. That's how John Boos finishes their blocks. It lasts longer than mineral oil alone.http://www.125west.com/John_Boos_Kitchen_Butcher_Blocks_&_Work_Tables_Butcher_Blocks_butcher_block.html
Also, see the tip at the bottom of this page:http://www.mapleblock.com/cuttingboard.html
I like a 50/50 mix of mineral oil and wax.
Billy
Thanks everyone
I think you'll need to bring a consultant (me) with you....
Tell her they need to keep a 10% bleach solution in a spray bottle on hand, cook needs to sanitize the area where he preps raw meat with it."A completed home is a listed home."
You are right..we had a catering biz. It was mandatory. We also employ hydrogen peroxide ...works like a charm.All...mineral oil is the bestest and easiset to maintain.IMO..or my Cboards...nothing else. Any Boiled linseed oil type of fin WILL impart a flavor on a cutting board or counter. that's a period.Just wipe pure mineral oil when it gets looking dry..woods vary. Clean with peroxide and bleach as needed. A good salt rub/or layer on top for overnight, also is incredible as to what it "pulls" up.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
this is in a sorority house up on campus,.........
...........at least I get to go back to the sorority house some time soon ;)"
NOW I SEE,
What YOU WANT is CALLBACKS, CALL BACKS, and MORE CALLBACKS. Especially to the upper rooms where males (other than "handymen") are normally not allowed.
Come on all...let's help Neil think of the worst product to finish a butcher block top with. At least he can blame us LOL.
Jon<!---->
coat it with butter...it'll racidize in no time..LOL
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
when are we working on my song again...ooops.hijacking is a bummer aint it.
By the way, yer comin' to NY dude.
Be well my bestest brotherman
a...The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
yep...
I actually do need to go back and get a few measurements for another project there..
I think sub-consciously I forgot to get them last time ....
I actually do need to go back and get a few measurements for another project there.."
36, 24, 36 ???
I won't tell Shannon. LOL
Jon
OK, Plain old mineral oil. It will need to be re-done every few months. he should develope the "While you are here" market
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
She has issues.Thereis no such surface that won't be scarred by knives.I would sugest that you google or search JLC for t6hat study showing that wood harbors fewer bacteria than the plastic cutting boards, but I kind of doubrt that this woman is the sort that can be swauyed by mere facts
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
What are the odds I can find that article on the JLC cd I have?
guess I'll go look...
she's a sweet women, from what I can tell... for a moment I tried to explain, oiling a top that size really wouldn't take any noticable time, then I just started nodding my head.
she wants the top sanded down, then re-coated with something... preferable stainless lol.
hmm... maybe I should offer to come back and re-apply the oil myself on a regular basis for a very very small fee...
give it your own special "Buff"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Every friday night?
Just don't confuse the bottle of mineral oil with yout bottle of beer, or you'll spend the rest of the weekend sitting on the toilet.
mongo suggests friday nite.
my suggestion: 11:30 the morning after the rush party (any house party). Plan on staying around throughout the entire lunch time. I had the pleasure of working on the kitchen doors before, take my word on this. Prime Time.
as to the bathroom. Any time other than after a rush party (any house party).
You just got out of school. Reminds her of her father........
Wonder what I would remind her of.....Ben Franklin?Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I don't believe that it was an article in JLC. More likely a small blurp in the front columns.But a google on - food safety wood cutting boards - quickly bring it up.Like this one.http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm
JLC did a blurp that mentioned the study done elsewhwere.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Thanks Bill and Piffin
Never heard back from you, did you get the $ for shipping I sent?
Yes, thanks.
http://www.mapleblock.com/
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
You're smart enough and have been around the block enough times...
But I'll mention this for lurkers...
Don't forget to treat the BOTTOM of the countertop the same as you treat the TOP. Meaning, you don't want to install an unfinished wood countertop, then just finish the top side. You'll get uneven moisture-induced wood movement and the slab will go pretzel on you.
Then again...I fogot...this is a sorority house and you want call-backs.
...<sorry MadDog>...
call backs would be a good thing ;)
actually going in there brought back some memories from not to many years back... only this time I was being escorted by the house mom instead of snuck around her..
I did get a couple of odd looks carrying around my digital camera, especially when I was coming out of the bathroom.... and yeah, I had to go in there, to jump out a window to look at another part of the project. FWIW, a bathroom in a sorority house is a scary place for a man.
the funniest part was when one of the girls told my boss, that he looked like her father.
Use the Behlen's Salad Bowl Finish. It is a a rubbuing oil going on, but after about 4-6 coats, it begins to build a harder sheen like a poly.
I used it on John Travolta's kitchen. As members of the Scientology sect, they are very very strict about products used in their home, so I haad to submit a data sheet on it to their church elders or whatever they were called for approval first.
I think it might have a ddifferent trade anme now but still called Salad Bowl Finish
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!